Hi Mark,
Doug is so right, I never know what to say in situations like this, I have lost a lot of friends and also my dad.
Dad always said it'll only get you if you let it. He managed 11 years after being given 9 months. And lived life to the full, going out to sea in his boat every day the weather let him.
Don't give up shipmate we're all here for you.
Cheers Colin.

Good morning Martin,
That's brilliant idea, heres another one, I normally take my vintage boats to vintage and steam shows through the summer, but as all the shows I am booked in for have been cancelled.
So how about a virtual show???
Maybe sections according to when the model was built? Decades. My fleet goes back to 1910s.
Just a thought, cheers Colin.

Sorry for getting it wrong, I'll have to get my friendly Ham radio neighbour to give me some pointers.
Cheers Colin. 👍

Phill, abbreviated text speek not appreciated by us older members.
Cheers Colin.

Yes Nerys, it was a 15 minute bus ride from the school in Rochester, I was there only for the winter term and wasn't accepted by the other boys, I WAS A NORTHERNER. And I was glad to go home to Leicester, and back to my own school, and the rugby, and my mates. But most of all the boating lake in the Abbey Park, where me and my best mate took our model boats, they were all free sailing models, either pond yachts or small powered boats. Set the rudder and launch, run round the lake to meet your boat. Occasionally we had to get a rowing boat from the parks hire boats to rescue models that got stuck on the islands. Oh what joy, fun for boaters and spectators alike especially if we fell in.
I still fall in occasionally. I've still got my original pond yacht that I had for my 5th birthday in 1954. Been repainted and new sails about 10 years ago. I'll have to get a picture of it posted. As soon as I can get in my storage area I'll picture all my boats individually an post with the details. Nothing fancy and all well used.
Off to bed now, so I'll have to sign off for the night. Good night and God bless all fellow boaters.
Cheers Colin and Caroline.

Nerys, it's funny about the medway, my mum just reminded me that in 1962/3
We spent a lot of time on the water while the medway viaduct was being built, we lived on dad's boat moored nearby, while he worked on the bridge and road equipment. Our moorings were somewhere near Rochester, I was13 and spent most of my free time fishing or when dad was back aboard we would get his model boat out and we'd sail her if the weather was good. I've still got the model in my collection.
Cheers Colin.

Great work Nerys, looks super, I'm still thinking of trying build one for myself, but my health has stopped me working on my models. But I have enjoyed following all of the comments on here.
I will have to get cracking soon as I am entered into the Abergavenny steam and vintage show on White weekend. Haven't had a chance to look at my boats in storage since September last.
Keep up the good work and best regards to you and Alice.
Cheers Colin.

Hi Martin, love it so far, can you please tell me what size is in English, I never did get the hang of that metric rubbish.
It was hard enough to get used to decimal currency, all my more and wright measuring kit is in ft and inches etc.
It's a shame we didn't teach the rest of the world proper measurements.
Cheers Colin.
PS great modelling as usual from the master.

Good looking project for someone, I would love to add her to my other 2 sea commanders but too far away.
Classic boats need saving.
Cheers Colin.

Great news Nerys, are there any pictures of the work in progress,
Many thanks for the updates, cheers Colin. 👍

Thanks Fleet,
If I can get the breathing back to normal (no coughing)
I will start sorting out.
The railway project is supposed to be for the Grandson, but I must admit I enjoy it as much as him. And my son hasn't got any spare space in their terraced house so I'm stuck with it here. 😁.
He gets to choose which trains to run for the first stint, usually about 2 hours, then I choose.
As we have 37 locos and 107 various forms of rolling stock to play with and controllers to run 3 at a time for now.
Have an original hornby Zero 1 digital system, but haven't had chance to fit the decoders in the locos yet.
Next stage is to somehow fit a pulley system so that it can be raised up to the rafters so that I can get my car in and out of the garage.
Back to the boat situation, I have another to get from a relative, it belonged to an uncle, and he passed away in November and he had left it to me. Don't know what it is, only that it's 4 foot long and made of wood, no pictures.
I've still not been able to get to visit my mum yet so her garage is still sat on my trailer waiting for me to deliver it.
This getting old and frequently more useless is depressing, especially when the old grey cells are in good working order.
Caroline bought me a machine called a Cricut Maker to help me with the modelling.
I haven't got the hang of the software yet but I'll get there.
It can draw or cut out all sorts of material, so far I have tried it with card, plasticard, sticky backed vinyl and thin ply, apparently it will cut through up to 3mm thick.
I also have a a good read through the postings on here and comment if I feel I can be of any help.
BTW the little veg garden and kitchen, is part of the 12 roomed Georgian Mansion that Caroline has in the spare room.
Well guys and gals of all ages I think that's all for now so I'll say goodnight and good health.
Cheers Colin.

Doug, please forgive me, I have not been able to do any modeling for about 8 months as my arthritis is so bad I have to wear stupid wrist braces.
I have even been lax with my grandson's school boat design and build project, currently suffering from a serious chest infection.
The motor is fine, I have managed to do test runs with the help of my son. But the boat still needs a bit of work to finish the cabins.
I think I might have a serious clearance when the weather is better. It seems like there are too many boats awaiting work eating all my space.
I will have to list all the ones to go and put pictures with them.
I will then offer them to anyone who is interested and I will donate the money to the RNLI. As our family have been rescued in the past, thank goodness for the brave volunteers.
I did help with my grandson's Christmas present, but most of the work was done by Caroline. (see the pics).
Cheers Colin.

Hi Doug, keep away from the fimo, the fumes when you cook it are awful. But the results are good if you have a spare baking tray and don't mind the smell.
Here is what Caroline does with fimo, all the veg in the kitchen garden and the food etc in the kitchen.
Cheers Colin.

What a beautiful piece of work, considering the size I don't think I've ever seen a better detailed model.
Hats off and three hearty cheers mate.
Cheers Colin

Hi there Nerys,
I find it easy just add the digits of your age together and behave accordingly, so at my next birthday I want jelly and trifle and 8 candles, that way I can enjoy it with my grandchildren. Then ask them to help me.
Cheers Colin.

Happy birthday Nerys,
Don't get too drunk, but enjoy every minute. Life is too short to waste on doom and gloom.
Best wishes Colin and Caroline.

Lovely looking Boat, what scale is it, my Dart Belle is 1/76th scale so I use model railway people.
Cheers Colin.

Hi Ed,
Looks like a labour of love, so I'm sure you will manage to do it justice.
Do you have the original drawings.
I'm thinking of upgrading the motor in mine as she's a bit heavy for getting up on the plane. Mind you I still get great pleasure seeing it in action with both monitors working.
Mine isn't the best looker but it's my favorite boat, and has been for over 50 years.
Cheers Colin.

It's the end of a bad year for me, I finished my antibiotics yesterday so at least I can toast the new year with my Xmas present, a 12 year old single malt.
So I raise a glass to all modellers around the globe especially those who have had a bad year.
To better health and better weather for boating. "SLANGE"
Cheers Colin.

Ti's the time to be grateful for all our gifts and gestures of good will.
So here is a wish for all modellers to have great Christmas and look forward to a better new year. At least there's no shortage of water.🤗
Cheers Colin.

Sad news indeed, maybe someone will buy it and rescue the brand.
Cheers Colin.

Hi Ed, when I was at the Warwick boat show I was talking to the guys on the Howes Model supplies stand about the F14, and they assured me that if you purchase the marine version in 2.4ghz everything works and even the expansion modules,
I will have to check with Futaba as I was going to order one for myself as a Christmas present.
Thanks for the heads up.
Cheers Colin.

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Hi Doug, thank you for your sympathy, it's all down to walking the dog in the fog. But on the mend now.
The grandson doesn't have a phone, and I believe the school does not allow phones.
But as soon as they have something they want to put into wood I will be able to photograph it.
As for your generous offer of rc setup I know that they already have 27mhz and 2.4ghz systems donated by me and another child's parent.
I am sure that it won't be long before I can get pictures of the progress.
Cheers Colin.

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Porridge, I agree that it is an essential part of life, as for cooking methods I'm willing to try them all.
Back in the 60's I was going out with a girl from Burrow Head on the West Coast of Scotland.
I stayed with her family a couple of times and her dad used to do a 20 gallon couldron full every Sunday, we all had a bowl with a spoon of honey, the rest was poured into trays lined with grease proof paper and stacked in the larder.
Then each morning it was sliced and we had it grilled with butter or fried with streaky bacon and egg and mushrooms, with a great splodge of brown sauce.
I wasn't keen on the grilled version but the fried was lovely.
I suppose its a bit like marmite you either love it or hate it.
Cheers Colin.

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Sorry for the lack of updates on this subject but I have been ill with a chest infection so haven't been able to get back to the school yet.
My son is coming to visit tomorrow and will hopefully bring me the latest news.
Apparently the class have now decided on the superstructure above deck level and they want to be able to change the whole topside allowing them to have 2 models for 1 Hull.
I hope to have more details tomorrow, cheers Colin.

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Well Nerys, if Caroline says she can't use my tools then I get her some she can use, earlier in the year our son needed some welding doing on his Mercedes after a pothole ripped his front suspension out, problem was I only had industrial equipment that was too big to take to the car. So on the understanding that I teach her to weld she bought us a portable gasless mig welder.
She can now lay a fair weld with mig, a usable weld with my old stick welder and is now learning to braze and gas weld with my oxy acetylene kit. I may even become redundant in my own workshop as she can already use my combination mill/lathe and pillar drill. She now wants a lightweight router as mine is just too heavy for her modelling, I'll have to ask santa.
Cheers Colin.

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Hi Martin, I bought my wife some power tools as she always moaned about mine being too heavy. Now she has a scroll saw, bandsaw, model makers lathe and other small cordless items such as sander, drill, plus a variety of normal modelling hand tools.
At least I can now always borrow her tools.
Cheers Colin.

Some great looking boats, your members are a bunch of very accomplished modellers. Thank you for sharing with us. Mere mortals.
Cheers Colin.

Well Ken, I suppose Welsh Dragons are intelligent enough, just hope they can understand English as I have only trained the Australian ones so far.
Maybe I should ask Nerys to teach me Welsh.
Cheers Colin.

As a Dragon master I find my Dragon Roxy moves fastest on wild Italian Rocket. But the odd cat can help with digestion.
Cheers Colin.

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